ANSI Caucus to Address ADA and Access

Washington, DC, Nov 14, 2003

On Friday, December 5, the monthly ANSI Caucus meeting will address the standards implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The discussion will be led by Marsha Mazz, Senior Accessibility Specialist in the Office of Technical and Information Services at the U.S. Architectural & Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board).

Ms. Mazz provides technical input for and oversight of the continued development of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines. She is the Access Board's representative to the model code organizations and is on the ICC/ANSI A117 and the ASME A18 Committees. She also oversees the Board’s technical assistance program, which responds to questions about access in buildings and facilities covered by the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). These acts have wide legal, contractual, and financial implications for many industries and the standards community is fundamental to the success of this comprehensive regulation.

David Karmol, ANSI’s vice president for public policy and government affairs, said “Ms. Mazza is an example of the kind of highly informed public officials who speak every month at the ANSI Caucus luncheon, which aims to provide to ANSI members timely information about what is going on in Washington.. The Caucus keeps members informed on a wide variety of public policy issues and also offers an opportunity to those ANSI members involved in government affairs activities a chance to network, and learn what others are doing related to standards.”

The Access Board is an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. It is responsible for: developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information technology; providing technical assistance and training on these guidelines and standards; and enforcing accessibility standards for federally funded facilities.

The ANSI Caucus meeting will be held at the University Club in Washington, DC, beginning at 11:30am. The University Club is located at 1135 16th Street, between L and M streets. To RSVP, please contact Jessica Karp (jkarp@ansi.org) by Wednesday, November 26th.

ANSI Caucus luncheons are held on the first Friday of each month and are free to ANSI members. The sponsor for this Caucus will be the International Code Council (ICC), represented by Kim Bright and Sarah Yerkes. Sponsorship opportunities are available for upcoming Caucus luncheons. For more information, please contact David Karmol, ANSI vice president, public policy and government affairs (dkarmol@ansi.org; 202-331-3610).